Trump attorney blasts 'gratuitous' photo of Mar-a-Lago documents amid unfolding Biden case
The Trump documents photo was obviously intended for press consumption, host Mark Levin says
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}An attorney representing former President Donald Trump in his Mar-a-Lago classified documents case slammed the Justice Department for its "gratuitous" photo of such papers strewn on the floor, as no similar image has surfaced from President Biden's case.
On "Life, Liberty & Levin," host Mark Levin said to Jim Trusty the image from Trump's Palm Beach, Florida, estate appeared to be intended for public and press consumption.
He said mainstream media legal analysts were "hooked" on it when it surfaced, and tried to use it to turn the public against the former president.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We don't have a picture of the covers of any of the documents that Joe Biden took with him to these various locations. We have nothing," Levin told Trusty, asking him if a media "Praetorian Guard" is protecting Biden from such scrutiny.
TRUMP ATTORNEY, FORMER DOJ OFFICIAL QUESTIONS DEPARTMENT'S APPEAL OF SPECIAL MASTER
This image contained in a court filing by the Department of Justice on Aug. 30, 2022, and redacted by in part by the FBI, shows a photo of documents seized during the Aug. 8 search by the FBI of former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. (Department of Justice via AP)
"Yeah, you're right on it," Trusty replied.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I mean, look, that picture that has seen more mileage than any other picture in recent history was a gratuitous attachment to a motions response filed by the government while we were trying desperately to get some modest intervention by the court to check these people — to make sure that they hadn't trampled over [Trump's] constitutional rights with a non-crime criminal investigation," he said.
Trusty said the documents were "literally posed" and filed during a motions hearing.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}President Joe Biden speaks during a rally at Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville, Maryland. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
"And there was only one purpose — and that was feed their friends at the mainstream media, and it worked like a charm."
"Ever since then, if you mention Mar-a-Lago, you get to see that posed picture as if President Trump was just scattering classified documents all over his office, you know, and having his own little fun."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}FILE: Former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago club is seen in the aerial view. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)
Trusty called the spectacle "absurd," adding that the current Department of Justice is unrecognizable from the one both he and Levin worked for in the past.
"I've seen politicized moments at DOJ, but not a sustained campaign like we're seeing here," he said. "Nothing like that coming out of the Biden situation so far."